How a Marathi linguaphile kept her love for grammar alive for a century

Hindustan Times

a day ago

PUNE/ MUMBAI: Language lovers often find themselves lost in the labyrinthine rules of grammar. But Yasmin Shaikh, an acclaimed grammarian and Marathi language expert, has always viewed grammar as 'delicate and poetic, akin to a well-composed verse'. Yasmin Shaikh views Marathi as delicate and poetic, akin to a well-composed verse. Mahesndra Kolhe/HT Photo
Pune-based Shaikh, who turned 100 last week, has spent over seven decades immersed in the elegance and intricacies of Marathi grammar, championing it with unwavering devotion. She looks upon the language as an inheritance which must be preserved in its pristine form. 'I am a humble admirer of Marathi. It is my mother tongue, and my love for it is deeply rooted,' Shaikh said, sitting at her Baner home. 'I believe it is my responsibility to protect and nurture it. Today, the younger generation's speech is heavily influenced by Hindi and English. Hence, we must strive to prevent its dilution and distortion. I cannot say if Marathi is as sweet as amrit, since I have never tasted amrit, but to me, Marathi is beautiful, rich and full of meaning.'
She has spent over three decades teaching the language in schools and colleges; trained candidates for civil services; edited textbooks; authored the Marathi Shabdlekhan Kosh; was the member of the Marathi Sahitya Mahamandal when it was first set up in the early '60s; and contributed to many journals.
While felicitating the centenarian on her birthday last week, Milind Joshi, president of the Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Mahamandal, said: 'Grammar is often seen as complicated, but Shaikh taught it with the grace and flow of poetry. She instilled linguistic awareness in society and made a significant contribution to the intellectual fabric of the state.'
Born as Jerusha into a Jewish family in Pen on June 21, 1925, a town nestled in the Raigad district of Konkan region. Her father worked for the government and was frequently transferred. While the family moved often, her love for words remained a constant, her father supporting her literary quests. That early exposure to literature became the bedrock of a lifelong passion for language.
She studied at Pune's SP College along with her sister, where she was mentored by legendary professors like SM Mate and KN Watwe. Their guidance sharpened her interest in grammar and linguistics. Graduating with top honours, she went on to teach in Mumbai, although it was in the classrooms of the city that her identity often evoked surprise.
After marrying Aziz Ahmed Ibrahim Shaikh, manager of a theatre in Nashik, in 1949 she took on the name Yasmin Shaikh. The interfaith marriage—a Jew marrying a Muslim—challenged norms. In Mumbai, every academic year began with similar moments: as she entered the classroom to teach Marathi, some students, upon hearing her name, would walk out, assuming they had mistakenly entered a class of English or Urdu. 'Is this really a Marathi class?' they would ask aloud. The sight of a Muslim woman teaching Marathi grammar startled them.
'But once I began teaching, the same students were captivated and grew to respect me,' she recalled. 'Language has no religion. The language of the nation where you were born and raised becomes your mother tongue. I follow only one religion—that of humanity. I believe in sarva-dharma-sambhava—the equality of all religions.'
The beginning of language
Shaikh believes that every language begins as sound. In an article published in Loksatta she wrote: 'Before speech, humans communicated using hand gestures. Over time, these sounds developed into spoken dialects. But since dialects are fleeting and ever-changing, scripts were invented to preserve them.' She said, as spoken words, their forms, and the sentences began to take shape, a sense of structure emerged, which evolved into grammar.
Interestingly, the Marathi language was devoid of a clear system of grammar until the arrival of the British. That is when the need to systematise Marathi grammar was felt. The British approached Dadoba Pandurang Tarkhadkar, a Sanskrit scholar of the time, and asked him to organize Marathi grammar. Tarkhadkar, heavily influenced by the Sanskrit grammarian Panini, adopted the Sanskrit alphabet as it was. As a result, letters that could not even be pronounced in Marathi found their way into the script, remaining merely symbols with no phonetic use.
After Maharashtra was established as a separate state in 1960, a committee of experts was formed to work on the development of the Marathi language and literature. Shaikh was a member of this committee, which came to be known as the Marathi Sahitya Mahamandal. One of the committee's major goals was to bring consistency to written Marathi and ensure its precise use in official government communication.
The committee was tasked with formulating new rules for written Marathi. In 1962, the state government officially accepted a set of 14 rules prepared by this committee, marking the beginning of formal regulation in the language. The committee also gave specific suggestions on how Marathi should be used in government communication.
In 1972, four more rules were added, and a new set of comprehensive language guidelines was established. Shaikh later authored a book explaining these rules in detail, making the principles of standardized Marathi accessible to all.
For many in the world of linguistics, she represents a bridge between tradition and modernity. Marathi language expert and researcher Dilip Phaltankar, who has been closely documenting Shaikh's work for years, said, 'Shaikh is not just a teacher of grammar – she is a custodian of linguistic culture. Her lifelong devotion has elevated the language into an art form—almost poetic in its precision and beauty. In an age when languages are losing their purity under the weight of global influences, she still stands as a quiet but firm sentinel of Marathi.'
Remaining alert and sharp
The centenarian today lives independently, blessed with a sharp memory and an alert mind. 'Entering my 100th year, I still find great joy in writing by hand. It gives me strength and a renewed purpose to live,' she said. 'As I am blessed with good health, I continue to research, read books sent to me, and respond to grammar-related queries from within India and abroad, often on the phone.'
Her mantra for life is simple – stay happy. 'I tell older people to focus on the positives in life rather than dwelling on the negatives. I, too, have faced pain and hardship, but I chose to see the brighter side. Do what you love, stay engaged, and find joy in it.' Her family, she said, fondly called her Laughing Jerusha. 'And I still carry that spirit.'
To this day, Shaikh responds to queries on grammar, keeps up with new publications, and encourages students with the same gentle firmness that once turned skeptics into her lifelong admirers. As Marathi continues to evolve, Shaikh's century of devotion reminds one that language is not just a tool of communication—it is an inheritance, and in her case, a lifelong love story.
BOX: Knowing Marathi
-Yasmin Shaikh authored the Marathi Shabdlekhan Kosh, a comprehensive dictionary of spelling and orthography, published by Hermis Prakashan in 2007, and revised in 2015. This work became a foundational reference on how to use Marathi.
-Advocated for the use of 'standard Marathi' in literature and formal writing, emphasizing the need to avoid excessive borrowing from foreign languages in order to preserve linguistic purity.
-Taught Marathi grammar and linguistics for 34 years at school and college levels. She was the head of Marathi department at SIES College, Mumbai, for six years.
-Trained IAS candidates at the State Institute of Administrative Careers, Mumbai, for a decade, focusing on grammar and linguistics.
-Edited Marathi textbooks for Balbharati and contributed to Karyatmak Vyakaran, a functional grammar book.
-Served as a grammar consultant for the Marathi magazine 'Antarnaad' for 15 years.
-She contributed to the Marathi Lekhan Margdarshika, a guide to Marathi writing, published by the Rajya Marathi Vikas Sanstha.
-Published numerous articles on grammar and language critique in periodicals.